Guy Ritchie says marriage to Madonna is "fine"

<p>Singer Madonna (L) and director Guy Ritchie arrive on the red carpet at the 61st Cannes Film Festival May 21, 2008.Vincent Kessler</p>

SAN DIEGO, California (Reuters) - Film director Guy Ritchie broke his silence on Friday over rumors that his marriage to Madonna is on the rocks, telling People magazine it was "fine."

"My marriage is fine as far as I'm aware of," the British director was quoted as telling People in an interview.

Rumors have been circulating for months that Ritchie's 8-year marriage to Madonna, 49, is on the rocks, despite several denials by the singer that the couple are planning a divorce.

Ritchie, 39, who found fame with his 1998 movie "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," said Madonna had allowed him to look at his hometown of London with fresh eyes.

"I live vicariously through my wife, so I was once a spy and now I've become a tourist, and it's much more fun to live in London as a tourist than it is as a spy," he told People.

Ritchie is in Southern California promoting his new movie "RocknRolla," while Madonna is rehearsing in New York for her upcoming world tour starting in August.

"RocknRolla" which opens in the United States in October, is set in the London criminal underworld of Russian gangster and stars Gerard Butler as a street-smart mobster, along with Thandie Newton, Jeremy Piven and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges.

His recent efforts, "Swept Away" starring Madonna, and "Revolver" were both critically panned.

Ritchie's next movie is "Sherlock Holmes" a drama based on the English literary detective and starring Robert Downey, Jr., which is slated for release in 2010.